What to watch tonight in PyeongChang: Figure skating team event begins

Thursday marks the start of competition for several sports. The team event in figure skating begins with the Olympic debut of Nathan Chen. The preliminary rounds for both men's and women's moguls take place, featuring American Jaelin Kauf. The round-robin stage of mixed doubles curling continues with the Hamilton siblings. The morning of Feb. 9, the Opening Ceremony will mark the official start to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Tonight in Primetime

Figure skating's team competition makes its second Olympic appearance. The United States claimed bronze in Sochi and is a medal favorite again in PyeongChang. The men's short program and pairs' short program will be competiting. Freestyle skiing kicks off with both men's and women's moguls. Canadian Mikael Kingsbury has won six-straight world cups in the men's event. For the women, Jaelin Kauf is Team USA's best hope for a gold medal in moguls. Kauf is making her Olympic debut.

Figure Skating

This will be the second Olympics where the team competition is taking place. The men's short program and pairs' short program will be competiting on the first night, with the rest of the competition to follow on Saturday and Sunday. Nathan Chen will make his Olympic debut for Team USA in the men's competition, while the husband and wife pairing of Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim will represent the United States in pairs skating. The U.S. won bronze in Sochi and is expected to contend for a medal in PyeongChang. Other medal favorites include the Olympic Athletes from Russia and Canada.

Freestyle Skiing

American Jaelin Kauf is a favorite to medal in women's moguls. She is only 21 years old, but is coming off a breakthrough season. Morgan Schild, also competing for the U.S., has had multiple injuries in recent years, but if healthy, could contend for a medal. Australian Britt Cox leads the international field, the two-time Olympian looks to build on momentum and is expected to have a spot on the podium.

Mikael Kingsbury headlines the men's event. The 25-year-old has won six straight world cup titles. Kinsbury is seeking his first gold medal after winning silver in Sochi. No American is a medal favorite, but Brad Wilson will be the best hope for the U.S. men's team. Wilson competed in Sochi, but did not medal. Newcomer Casey Andringa made his world cup debut a month before the Games, but could be a potential darkhorse for the podium.

Curling

Mixed doubles round-robin play continues on Thursday night. Team USA's sibling duo of Matt and Becca Hamilton will compete against both Switzerland and South Korea in back-to-back sessions. In mixed doubles, teams throw a total of five rocks over each of eight ends, creating a faster-paced event than traditional men's or women's curling.

Opening Ceremony

Stay up late or wake up early to watch the Opening Ceremony unfold LIVE in real time Friday morning at 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m. PT on NBCOlympics and the NBC Sports app, before NBC's television coverage Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The U.S. sent 243 athletes to PyeongChang, the largest athlete delegation in winter games history. The oldest U.S. athlete is men's hockey player Brian Gionta at 39 years old. Conversely, Vincent Zhou, figure skating, is only 17 years old and will be the youngest American. Shani Davis is the most decorated U.S. athlete with four total medals. There are five Americans who are defending Olympic gold medalists: Jamie Anderson (snowboard slopestyle), Maddie Bowman (freestyle skiing halfpipe), Ted Ligety (Alpine skiing, giant slalom), Mikaela Shiffrin (Alpine skiing, slalom), and David Wise (freestyle skiing halfpipe).